A familiar record – but a fantastic one! You probably all know the famous theme to "Mission Impossible" – Lalo Schfrin's beautiful jazzy number, with three piano notes revolving over and over again with incredible intensity – and the rest of the record is every bit as great, filled with a wonderful mix of groovy styles! The groove ranges from fast bossa to groovy 60s crime jazz to sparer tenser numbers that still manage to move nicely – and listening to the record over the years, our ears are always happily surprised at the level of genius that was allowed expression in the guise of a normal TV soundtrack. 22 cuts that include "More Mission", "Self Destruct", "Intrigue", "Jim On The Move", "The Plot", "The Sniper", "Danger", and "Barney Does It All". (Soundtracks, Now Sound) CD

A beautiful little album of sweet late 60s easy – originally recorded by British producer Mike Hurts for Phase 4 at the end of the 60s, but never issued until now! The set has a really warm and glowing sort of groove – one that's a fair bit more dynamic than most of the rest of the Phase 4 sets, with evocative qualities that almost push the record more into the soundtrack side of the spectrum. Hurst's arrangements of the tunes are often quite driving, but never too dramatic – and although the set's an orchestral one, there's a great sense of pacing, timing, and rhythm to all the numbers. Titles include "April Fools", "Cool", "Sound Of Silence", "Wednesday's Child", "Good Vibrations", "Image", "Mission Impossible", and "Theme From The Wild Ones". CD

A great little album of Latiny tunes from Henry Mancini – played by a very hip lineup of west coast jazzmen! The rhythms have a great mix of Latin influences and Mancini magic – the kind of grooves you'd hear on his 60s soundtracks at the time, played by a lineup that includes Bud Shank and Tom Scott on reeds, Buddy Childers and Pete Candoli on trumpets, Ray Brown on acoustic bass, Max Bennett on fender bass, Larry Bunker on percussion, and Shelly Manne on drums. The vibe is nice and relaxed – a bit more upbeat than bossa, but not as all-out as other RCA Latin sessions – thanks to Mancini's nice sense of warmth and space in the arrangements. Titles include some pretty darn cool takes on "Mission Impossible", "Fistful Of Dollars", "Magnificent Seven", "Touch Of Evil", and "Springtime For Hitler", from the film The Producers. Other titles include "Patricia", "Zacatecas", and "Las Cruces". LP, Vinyl record album

A very cool record that we might well put right up there with Mel Torme's "California Suite" as a musical tribute to the west coast – or the "Manhattan Tower" of Gordon Jenkins as some sort of tribute to a city! The album's a long piece on the glory of San Francisco – with lots of differently-themed tunes that refer to aspects of the city in mid-century – composed by the team of Libby and Stephen McNeil, set to music by David Rose –a nd featuring vocals by Ray Goman, Shepard Menken, Bob Grabot, Bill Thompson, and others. Titles include "Fog Over Frisco", "Meet The Press", "When You Call It Frisco Smile", "Around The Town Sequence", andee "Mission Dolores". Side two features "Four Moods In Memory" – a suite of themes played by Rose, with narration by Don Sherwood. (Soundtracks, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

The classic first volume in this series, put together back in the 80's, when loads of hip hop tracks were sampling things like "Inspector Gadget" and "Batman". Still classic now, though, and with loads of material, like The Flintsones, Batman, Lost In Space, Star Trek, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Green Acres, Mr. Ed, The Munsters, Popeye, Felix the Cat, Ironside, Mannix, The Man From UNCLE, Mission Impossible, and lots lots more! Classic stuff, with 65 tracks in all! (Soundtracks, Now Sound) CD

The genius of Nicola Conte gets the remix treatment – in this wonderful new album that steps off heavily from his massive Jet Sounds set of a few years ago! If you know Nicola, he's the wunderkind behind the Schema label – and, probably more than anyone in the world right now, one of the few producer/musicians who can really handle a retro-sounding groove. Conte's steeped in classic jazz, soundtracks, and bossa nova – all of which come into play in his music – and this set has him working with a host of able talents who help to take his unique creative vision even farther than before! Titles include "Jazz Pour Dadine" remixed by The Dining Rooms, "Arabesque" done by Micatone, "Forma 2000" reformed by Les Gammas, "Dossier Omega" redone by Espen Horne, "The In Samba" done by Kyoto Jazz Massive, "Missione A Bombay" by Eddy & Dus, "Mambo De Los Dandies" by Gerardo Frisina, and "Trappola Mortale (traffic replay) done anew by The Freeform Arkestra. (New Grooves, Now Sound) CD

The genius of Nicola Conte gets the remix treatment – in this wonderful new album that steps off heavily from his massive Jet Sounds set of a few years ago! If you know Nicola, he's the wunderkind behind the Schema label – and, probably more than anyone in the world right now, one of the few producer/musicians who can really handle a retro-sounding groove. Conte's steeped in classic jazz, soundtracks, and bossa nova – all of which come into play in his music – and this set has him working with a host of able talents who help to take his unique creative vision even farther than before! US version features a slightly different track list than the European one – with titles that include "Arabesque (vocal version)" done by Micatone, "Forma 2000" reformed by Les Gammas, "Tema In Hi Fi" by Nicola Conte & Gianluca Petrella, "Jet Sounds" by Nuspirit Helsinki, "Bossa Per Due" by Thievery Corporation, "Fuoco Fatuo" by Koop, "New Standards" by Nicola Conte & Gianluca Petrella, "Love Me Till Sunday" by Nicola Conte, "Dossier Omega" redone by Espen Horne, "The In Samba" done by Kyoto Jazz Massive, "Missione A Bombay" by Eddy & Dus, and "Mambo De Los Dandies" by Gerardo Frisina. (New Grooves, Now Sound) CD

A very cool little package – filled with excellent loungey tunes pulled from Capitol's Ultra Lounge series! The cover alone is worth the price of admission – faux leopard fur, topped off with a shiny embossed Ultra-Lounge logo – but inside, the CD features 24 very groovy tunes, mostly late 50s and early 60s numbers, recorded in the glory days of mood music and bachelor pad albums! Titles include "Teach Me Tiger" by April Stevens, "Tanya" by Plas Johnson, "Swamp Fire" by Martin Denny, "Cha Cha Cha D'Amour" by Dean Martin, "So Nice" by Billy May, "More" by Bobby Darin, "Route 66" by Nelson Riddle, and "Lonesome Road" by Dean Elliott. CD